Chapter 186: One Strike [@Thomasinho Golden Ticket Bonus - ]

Chapter 186: Chapter 186: One Strike [@Thomasinho Golden Ticket Bonus Chapter]

The moment its prey came into the tiger’s view, the tiger lunged at blinding speed, aiming directly at the legs to incapacitate its movements.

Its claws extended mid-attack.

Just as they were about to tear into flesh and tendon, the prey suddenly shifted its weight.

The claws passed by a hairline’s breadth.

***

WHOOSH!

Alex had felt the creature the instant it entered the range of his Eye of Flesh.

The concentrated mana signature behind the wall had been impossible to miss once it moved.

He fluidly dodged the sneak attack without wasting a single step.

The creature that emerged was a tiger-shaped monster, almost purely red with black stripes running across its body.

Its eyes locked onto him with clear killing intent.

’It feels like I almost predicted its trajectory of attack before it even attacked me.’

The sensation was strange but clear.

Through the sharpened five senses and the visible flow of mana, the tiger’s intent had registered a fraction of a second early.

Alex’s body had already begun adjusting before the claws fully extended.

The tiger immediately jumped at him again.

Alex dodged once more, body flowing aside with the same clean efficiency.

The beast’s claws struck empty air.

WHOOSH!

"GRrrrr!" The tiger landed and let out a loud growl.

This time it abandoned any attempt at a non-lethal capture.

The prey was too slippery.

It had no intention of letting it escape.

Alex bent low as the tiger moved forward.

The beast’s jaw parted wide, teeth bared as it spotted its target.

It lunged, aiming directly at Alex’s throat.

The moment the tiger left the ground and fully committed to the attack, Alex’s posture shifted completely.

He flickered aside.

The swipe that had been meant for his throat slammed into the ground instead, sending dust and debris spiraling outward in a wide cloud.

Alex spun and Amethyst Paradox flashed along with the motion.

FLASH! SLICE!

A sharp purple arc cut through the haze with enough force to clear it.

When the dust settled, the tiger’s headless body lay a few meters behind him.

THUD!

The severed head rolled once and stopped.

1.8 seconds.

That was all it had taken from the final lunge to the end.

"It almost feels like I can read my opponents now..." Alex muttered the words in a quiet trance.

The feeling was still new and slightly unsettling.

He could see the movement of mana.

He could feel intent through all five heightened senses.

The combination had let him predict the tiger’s attack patterns with unnatural clarity.

[ You have killed a tiger monster. lvl 12 ]

[ You have gained 10.1 XP ]

Alex swung the blade once.

The red blood coating Amethyst Paradox flew off in a clean arc, leaving the weapon spotless again. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Ssswip!

The live feeds across the Human Empire were programmed to shift toward anyone involved in an intense battle or unusual situation.

Alex’s situation had already been drawing attention, but the sudden ambush pushed every major screen onto the same image: a black-haired boy facing a tiger-like creature’s unexpected attack.

The competition had only started around half an hour ago.

Everyone watching expected an intense fight.

They expected blood, prolonged exchanges, and a real struggle between the Third Prince and the beast.

Instead, only one attack was made by Alexander Abyss.

The tiger was beheaded.

Silence held for a fraction of a second across countless viewing squares and taverns.

Then the reactions began.

"A-am I just hallucinating, or has he gotten way too fast all of a sudden?" an experienced warrior muttered in disbelief, leaning forward in his seat.

"Didn’t the rumors say he was already in the high Awaken ranks, above Level 10? Then how did he get this strong after killing only that many beasts?!"

"Maybe he was holding back until now?"

"Or maybe the spider used some kind of debuff on him earlier?"

The crowd still operated under the wrong assumption that Alex had entered the Proving already in the mid or high Awaken stages.

None of them knew he had started at Level 0.

If that truth ever spread, it would cause another uproar entirely.

Theories erupted like wildfire.

More and more viewers began recognizing that the Third Prince of Winterfang was becoming a real contender for this year’s Proving.

His actual combat speed and decisiveness were no longer something that could be dismissed as rumor or exaggeration.

As the realization settled across the empire, the noise returned in full force.

In the betting areas the shift was immediate.

"Listen to me now! We should change our bet! We should place three-quarters of our money on him instead of Kerin Vectorian!" a woman said sharply to her husband, eyes locked on the feed.

"If you don’t do it and the Third Prince wins, then you are sleeping on the ground tonight! Now do what you want. I have said enough. Hmph!"

She harrumphed and turned fully back to the screen, refusing to look at him.

"Why are you so unreasonable..." the man muttered under his breath.

Still, after a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly changed the bet to Alexander Abyss.

Across other squares the same pattern repeated.

Money that had been placed on the early favorites began shifting.

The image of the black-haired boy standing over a beheaded tiger with a clean weapon in hand had changed the calculation for a large portion of the audience.

Alex remained unaware of most of the public reaction.

He simply checked the small amount of experience gained, confirmed the kill, and continued scanning the surrounding mana with the Eye of Flesh still active.

The residual mana from the tiger’s corpse was already dispersing into the air and stone around it.

Even that fading current was clear to him now.

The tiger had been Level 12.

Strong enough to be a real threat to ordinary early participants, yet it had lasted less than two seconds once it committed to the attack.

The combination of heightened senses and visible mana flow had turned what should have been a dangerous ambush into a brief, almost clinical exchange.

’So this is what the Eye of Flesh can do in a real fight...’

The new perception was already proving its value.

Alex had not needed to use Shadow Mantle or any large expenditure of mana.

Timing and information alone had been enough.

He adjusted his grip on Amethyst Paradox and started moving again in Zara’s direction, senses open and ready for whatever came next.

The ranking list still sat at the edge of his awareness if he wanted to check it.

First place remained his for the moment.

He intended to keep it that way.

🌿 ─ ❦ ─ 🌿

End of Chapter 186: One Strike

🌿 ── ❦ ── 🌿